Project Management for Non-Project Managers
What is Project Management?
Project Management consists of the tools, skills, and techniques to deliver something that can add value to clients’ work. In simpler terms, project management is leading a team to complete deliverables and achieve certain goals within a stipulated time frame. The process includes planning, tracking, and communication for effective deliverables. All the work you do to deliver something requires proper planning with a team.
To manage a project, you would require the knowledge and skills from an excellent and highly organized Project Management Professional (PMP) course, even if you are a non-project manager. You will work on the front lines of the project with teams, setting deadlines, figuring out what can enhance the outcomes, and different deliverable strategies. Managing a project requires much time and energy, and you will usually work behind the scenes to make any project a success.
Importance/Benefits of Project Management for Non-Project Managers
The following are the benefits of project management for non-project managers -
1) Improved Communication
Communication is the key to success in almost every work project, and with a non-project manager proficient in communication, the business can thrive and result in profitable and efficient outcomes.
2) Efficient Use of Resources
Effective project management is crucial for businesses to complete projects successfully within budget and time constraints. A skilled project manager can help organizations develop strategies to optimize the use of resources to achieve project objectives. With increasing pressure on budgets and deadlines, businesses need to prioritize the efficient use of resources. A committed non-project manager who has learned project management can help organizations achieve this by developing effective budget and timetable strategies that align with project goals.
3) Increased Productivity
To increase efficiency and project quality, project managers put a lot of work into further defining goals and streamlining operations. Teams can more easily navigate the project and complete necessary activities when they have a clear outline, which ultimately improves work quality and results in a high-quality outcome.
4) Better Risk Management
Every project has several risks, including those related to costs, schedules, and performance. Project managers serve their organization by excelling in the areas of risk analysis, communication, and prioritization.
Essential Project Management Skills for Non-Project Managers
To be a project manager, you need certain skills; anyone with great soft skills can be a project manager. Below are a few skills that you require to be a project manager -
1) Goal Setting and Planning
As a project manager, your first responsibility must be - to set a goal for individual projects. Once you have set the goals, it is time to plan the project. A project plan serves as the foundation or outlines for the critical components of a successful project implementation. Planning consists of the project's objectives, timeline, goals, financial plans, KPIs, stakeholders, and accomplishments. Also, this step can be divided further into five different phases -
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring
- Closing
2) Leadership and Team Management
Regardless of whether you have prior leadership experience, your team members will look to you for direction when managing a project. To complete a project, you need to be able to manage a team, assign duties, and inspire cooperation among team members. Under this, there are three major factors you must always consider -
- Appreciate your team members for their achievements.
- Hold your team members accountable for their mistakes, and ask them to rework if needed.
- Use the opportunity to be disruptive and develop a critical perspective toward businesses' actions merely because that is how they have always been done.
3) Time Management
Prioritizing other tasks when working on a project can be challenging. However, you may easily finish jobs on schedule if you have effective time management techniques. Create a project schedule, stop being distracted, prioritize time-sensitive tasks, and automate repetitive tasks.
4) Communication Skills
Project success depends on effective teamwork and communication. However, failure to establish effective communication channels will result in delays, mistakes, and a lack of ownership. You should choose preferred communication methods like email, chat, and collaborative tools to solve this problem. You can use project management tools like shared schedules, project schedules, and file transfers to facilitate communication further.
4) Budgeting and Financial Management
Strong budgeting and financial management skills are essential for effective spending control within businesses. These skills are particularly useful in project management, as they enable effective supervision of project finances and help ensure that project costs remain within budget.
5) Risk Management and Problem-Solving
Making optimal decisions for the project requires recognizing, addressing, and overcoming problems that develop throughout the project. These problems may involve group dynamics, scope statements, finances, or schedules. Problem-solving solid abilities enable a project manager to pinpoint the source of a problem swiftly, evaluate the project's future effects, and create a workable solution.
Steps to Implement Project Management for Non-Project Managers
Below are the steps to implement project management for non-project managers -
1) Identifying Key Stakeholders
Identifying and prioritizing stakeholders is the first step while implementing project management. This helps you understand where you must invest your resources. In short, as a project manager, the first thing you must do is identify the key decision-makers and ensure you are communicating with them to deliver the best results.
2) Establish Clear Objectives and Deliverables
Being clear with the goals and what you need to deliver makes it easy for you to guide your team and ensure you are sticking to the deadline and delivering the optimum results.
3) Create a Project Plan
Once you are done identifying your key stakeholders, and you are clear with your objective, you must create a project plan - from layouts to actual implementation.
4) Execute and Monitor the Plan
By proper execution and monitoring the plan, you ensure your team is effective, and the defined objective is achieved. It also makes it possible to calculate the budget based on the elapsed time.
5) Evaluate the Project’s Success
Once your project is completed, you must evaluate the project to ensure it has met the standard quality and identify any changes required. It also provides valuable insight into the team and client satisfaction.
5 Effective Tips for Non-Project Managers
To start as an effective project manager, you need to start thinking about the outcome first - what do you want, what are your clients looking for, and what do you want to deliver? Based on these things, you can plan the project further. Below are some tips to get started as a non-project manager -
1) Manage Meetings Efficiently
Project meetings are essential to their success. They offer a forum for work assignments, issue discussions, project status evaluations, etc. So, it's crucial to run meetings effectively. The lack of organization will hinder the effectiveness of tasks if they last for hours. Thus be aware of how to lead and organize a live or recorded meeting.
2) Clearly Define the Goals and Deliverables
Understanding your overarching purpose is crucial when managing any project before delving deeper into the numerous tasks needed to finish it. This way, you can develop the vocabulary to explain the work's achievable objectives clearly. You will contribute to keeping everyone moving toward that specific goal by doing this.
3) Manage Stakeholder Relationship
Anyone who is directly or indirectly interested in the project is referred to as a stakeholder. Examples include investors and executives from other teams. While working on a project, chances are you might neglect the stakeholder. However, as they have an effect on the project's success, doing so could lead to project failure. Hence, ensure to understand their interests and solicit their input frequently.
4) Create a Detailed Plan
On the personal level of project management, it's crucial to talk to team members about the extent of your work, your targets, and the level of concentration needed to reach your objectives. This can help you recognize and overcome your constraints as you work to finish the job.
5) Prioritize Tasks
Multitasking doesn't work, even though it may appear like the ideal technique to complete numerous tasks quickly. We are only wired to handle one or two difficult tasks at once.
Tools & Technologies for Effective Project Management
Project management software is great for you if you are a busy project manager. Below are some efficient tools for you as a non-project manager -
Project Management Software
There are several project management software, such as Asanas, Basecamp, and Airtable, that help you with tracking the progress of the project, resources, and allocation of tasks throughout the organization.
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration tools help in solving your daily challenge during work. It also helps the project manager determine the efficiency of the team’s work. Some examples of collaboration tools are - Slack, Trello, Bit, Wrike, etc.
Time Tracking Tools
Time tracking tools help you to keep track of the deadline, deliverables, and resources. It also helps boost the productivity of your team’s work. Scoro, ActiveCollab, Harvest, and Clarizen are some of the best time-tracking tools.
Communication and Reporting Tools
Communication and reporting serve as a helping hand in gathering information to keep track and records of the project. Some communication and reporting tools are ScreenRec, ProofHub, Asana, Notion, GoogleSuite, etc.
Conclusion
Regardless of your position, mastering these techniques can advance your career by making you more efficient and successful in your current position. Nonetheless, the project management techniques and skills will be essential for anyone wishing to further their career in this field to become a project manager, a position with a promising job outlook.
Utilize the knowledge on project management for non-project managers to put the appropriate techniques into practice, employ the most precise tools, stay clear of common mistakes, and successfully oversee the completion of your project. All non-project managers can always join the best Project Management Professional (PMP) course and give their careers a kickstart.